Economy
October 31, 2013
Consumer Confidence 3MMA Drops to 77.7
Written by Peter Wright
Consumer Confidence is a Strong Leading Indicator of Future Steel Demand
As expected because of the shenanigans in Washington, consumer confidence declined strongly in October, particularly as regards consumer’s future expectations. The Conference Board composite measure of consumer confidence decreased to 71.2 from 80.2 in September. The three month moving average, (3MMA) fell from 81.0 to 77.7 but was up by 10.1 year over year. The view of the present situation and expectations both declined. The consumer’s view of the present situation fell from 73.5 to 70.7 as expectations declined from 84.7 to 71.5, year over year improvements in the three month moving average were 21.07 and 2.87 respectively, (Figure 1). Figure 1 shows that at this stage of recovery from a recession the consumer’s views of the present situation and of expectations converge before the present component moves ahead. This is happening today.
